Tunnel+Of+Love+-+Studio+Sessions

include component="page" page="content_legendott" wrap="1" code Commercially Released: October 6, 1987 Produced by Springsteen, Jon Landau and Chuck Plotkin Recording Engineer: Toby Scott Recorded from January 20 to July 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s New Jersey home studio) Additional recording, overdubbing and mixing at The Hit Factory, NY, A&M Studios, LA and Kren Studio (Los Angeles) code Part One - Tunnel Of Love Session Overview

Springsteen completed the //Born In The USA// tour in October 1985. He kept a very low public profile for the next twelve months, residing almost exclusively on the west coast with then-wife Julianne. During the spring, possibly early summer, of 1986 Springsteen undertook a series of low-key sessions at his home studio, Thrill Hill West, in Beverly Hills. These appear to have been solo sessions, perhaps mirroring Springsteen’s early 1983 //Born In The USA// solo sessions at the same location (although by this point Bruce's west coast home studio had been substantially enhanced compared to 1983). However these sessions were abandoned by the early summer of 1986 when a decision was made to proceed with the //Live 1975-85// box set project. Springsteen devoted his energies during the remainder of 1986 preparing the large box set for its late 1986 release. The box set was a massive commercial success.

Following the release of the live box, Springsteen began a new series of solo-based home studio sessions beginning on January 20, 1987 that would form the foundation of the material issued on the //Tunnel Of Love// album (and the 1998 //Tracks// outtakes box set). Bruce was inspired, cutting three songs on the very first day of recording; "Walk Like A Man", "Spare Parts" and "When You Need Me". The second day of sessions four days later was even more successful with five songs recorded, including two unused outtakes "Pretty Baby, Will You Be Mine" and "Things Ain't That Way". Unlike during 1986 this time Springsteen recorded at his New Jersey home studio, with specific E Street Band members later brought into the Hit Factory in New York City to embellish or add parts. It appears the "New Jersey home studio phase" took place between January 20 and the end of May 1987, with the bulk of the album recorded across eighteen sessions.

The May-July 1987 period saw Springsteen conducting further recording sessions back out on the west coast at A&M Studios in Los Angeles (and possibly related solo sessions at his west coast home studio as well). The initial phase of these A&M Studios sessions included three outside session musicians (together and individually) - Jay Dee Maness (pedal steel, and at the time a member of ex-Byrd Chris Hillman's Desert Rose Band), Richard Greene (a noted fiddle player) and James “Jimmie” Wood (a harmonica specialist). A July 1987 news piece in //Rolling Stone// magazine reported on the three musician's involvement in Springsteen sessions in Los Angeles. Some individual members of the E Street Band were also involved in these, or slightly later, west coast A&M Studio sessions. However the only recording that’s surfaced from all these west coast sessions is "One Step Up" (which features only Patti Scialfa in support). Of these three "outside" session men – only James Wood appears on any of the known recordings (a harmonica overdub on "Spare Parts").

In 1995 Springsteen confirmed in an Australian television interview with Molly Meldrum that nearly an entire album's worth of songs, material that effectively constituted another work-in-progress album separate from the //Tunnel Of Love// album, had been recorded during 1986-87. It is unclear from Bruce’s comments if he was talking about the material he is alleged to have recorded by himself during May-June 1986, or the material with the three (above-noted) session musicians that he recorded in Los Angeles in May-June 1987, or both. The //Tunnel Of Love// album was delivered to CBS in August 1987 and released in October. //Tunnel Of Love// can be seen as a virtual Springsteen solo album. Not a single circulating track that has surfaced from the sessions features the ensemble-type E Street Band playing that had characterized his previous studio albums (except //Nebraska//).

Part Two - Tunnel Of Love Sessions Details

Note: Recorded sometime between January and April 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce solo. Note: Recorded sometime between January and May 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce solo. Note: Recorded sometime between January and May 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce solo. Note: Recorded sometime between May and August 1987 at A&M Studios (Los Angeles). Springsteen solo on multiple instruments. Patti Scialfa provides backing vocals. Note: Recorded sometime between January and May 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce handles multiple instruments and his one-man backing band on this recording is Max Weinberg (drums). Note: Recorded sometime between January and May 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen handles multiple instruments and his two-man backing band on this recording is Danny Federici (organ) and Max Weinberg (drums). Note: Recorded January 20, 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio) on the very first day of the sessions. The first take. Springsteen handles multiple instruments and his one-man backing band on this recording is Max Weinberg (drums). Note: Recorded sometime between January and May 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen handles multiple instruments and his one-man backing band on this recording is Max Weinberg (drums). Nils Lofgren, Clarence Clemons, and Patti Scialfa provide backing vocals. Note: Recorded sometime between January and May 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen handles multiple instruments and his two-man backing band on this recording is Danny Federici (organ) and Max Weinberg (percussion). Originally written as a rockabilly song. Note: Began life as "Is That You?", which was recorded February 5, 1987. Became "Brilliant Disguise" by the end of that month. Recorded at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen handles multiple instruments and his three-man backing band on this recording is Roy Bittan (keyboards), Danny Federici (organ) and Max Weinberg (percussion). Note: Recorded January 20, 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio) on the very first day of the sessions. The second take. Springsteen’s four-man backing band on this recording is Garry Tallent (bass), Danny Federici (organ), Max Weinberg (percussion) and Jimmie (or James) Wood (harmonica). Note: Recorded sometime between January and May 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen’s four-man backing band on this recording is Nils Lofgren (lead guitar), Roy Bittan (synthesizers), Max Weinberg (percussion) and Patti Scialfa (vocals). The Schiffer family of Point Pleasant, NJ provided the roller coaster vocals. Despite its use as the album title, "Tunnel Of Love" nearly wasn't included on the album, with "Lucky Man" occupying its slot on an early track listing. Note: Recorded April 4, 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce alone, on all instruments. Included on early album track listings, replacing "Tunnel Of Love". Note: Recorded during February 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce alone, on all instruments. Note: Recorded on February 22, 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce alone, on all instruments. Note: Recorded on February 22, 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce on all instruments. The drums (Gary Mallaber) were added to the core recording in 1998 for //Tracks//. Note: Originally titled "If You Need Me". Recorded on January 20, 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce on all instruments. The drums (Gary Mallaber) and violin (Soozie Tyrell) were added to the core recording in 1998 for //Tracks//. Note: Springsteen composition from 1986; recorded for //Tunnel Of Love// but not issued. Performed live regularly during the 1988 //Tunnel Of Love// tour. Bruce re-recorded the song in 1990 during the //Human Touch// album sessions and that version was released as a 1992 b-side and then later on //Tracks//. Note: Recorded January 24, 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen's NJ home studio). An unused track from the second recording session. Note: Recorded January 24, 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen's NJ home studio). An unused track from the second recording session. Note: Haunting ballad co-written by Springsteen (music) and Southside Johnny (lyrics) sometime in latter half of 1987. No Springsteen studio recording is known and he's never performed the song live. Recorded by Southside in early 1988 and released later in the year on his //Slow Dance// album.

Part Three - Tunnel Of Love Sessions notes

Thanks to studio logs, we can confirm that neither "Beneath The Floodline" or "Seeds" were recorded during the Tunnel of Love sessions.

A bootleg called “Lucky Man - Tunnel Of Love Demos & Rough Mixes” (Prime of Rarities label) purports to have outtakes and/or alternate mixes of eleven of the twelve //Tunnel Of Love// album tracks + “Lucky Man”. This is a false claim and a bogus CD, as all the tracks on this boot are exactly the same recording and mixes as found on the official album, except the boot is of poor sound quality.

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